Quote by MapleRosehmm, I was
just wondering why they'd so something like that, what's wrong with the real sun?

It's called an artificial sun because it's an energy facility that employs nuclear fusion, like the sun does, rather
than nuclear fission like all our current nuclear power. Did you even read the article, or are you just making a stupid
comment based on the headline?

In all seriousness, though, you have to realize that eventually our sun WILL GO OUT. Like a huge firecracker reaching
the end of it's fuse. And when that happens we would have no heat whatsoever. None, zip, zero, zilch, null, nada, and so
if we had something like this then we might be able to preserve the people that survived the sun's super nova. That is
if we haven't blown ourselves up yet (or exhausted earth's resources and moved on to another planet).

But I still like the idea of giant robots better ;) :P :D

Our time is dark, and our world chaotic but I will not be made a victim of this world.....

They will need an EMF to control it though. A fusion reaction occurs when two atoms of hydrogen collide to create a
larger helium-4 atom, which releases energy.

* Two protons combine to form a deuterium atom, a positron and a neutrino.
* A proton and a deuterium atom combine to form a helium-3 atom (two protons with one neutron) and a gamma ray.
* Two helium-3 atoms combine to form a helium-4 (two protons and two neutrons) and two protons.

Fusion can only occur in super-heated environments measuring in the millions of degrees. Stars, which are made of
plasma, are the only natural objects that are hot enough to create fusion reactions. Plasma, often referred to as the
fourth state of matter, is ionized gas made of atoms stripped of some electrons. Fusion reactions are responsible for
creating 85 percent of the sun's energy. The high level of heat required to create this type of plasma makes it
impossible to contain the components in any known material. However, plasma is a good conductor of electricity, which
makes it possible to be held by an EMF. When hydrogen atoms fuse, the nuclei must come together. However, the protons in
each nucleus will tend to repel each other because they have the same charge (positive). If you've ever tried to place
two magnets together and felt them push apart from each other, you've experienced this principle first-hand. To achieve
fusion, you need to create special conditions to overcome this tendency.

* High temperature - The high temperature gives the hydrogen atoms enough energy to overcome the electrical repulsion
between the protons.
* Fusion requires temperatures about 100 million Kelvin (approximately six times hotter than the sun's core).
* At these temperatures, hydrogen is a plasma, not a gas. Plasma is a high-energy state of matter in which all the
electrons are stripped from atoms and move freely about.
* The sun achieves these temperatures by its large mass and the force of gravity compressing this mass in the core. We
must use energy from microwaves, lasers and ion particles to achieve these temperatures.

* High pressure - Pressure squeezes the hydrogen atoms together. They must be within 1x10-15 meters of each other to
fuse.
o The sun uses its mass and the force of gravity to squeeze hydrogen atoms together in its core.
o We must squeeze hydrogen atoms together by using intense magnetic fields, powerful lasers or ion beams.

With current technology, we can only achieve the temperatures and pressures necessary to make deuterium-tritium fusion
possible. Deuterium-deuterium fusion requires higher temperatures that may be possible in the future. Ultimately,
deuterium-deuterium fusion will be better because it is easier to extract deuterium from seawater than to make tritium
from lithium. Also, deuterium is not radioactive, and deuterium-deuterium reactions will yield more energy.

In all seriousness, though, you have to realize that eventually our sun WILL GO OUT. Like a huge firecracker reaching
the end of it's fuse. And when that happens we would have no heat whatsoever. None, zip, zero, zilch, null, nada, and so
if we had something like this then we might be able to preserve the people that survived the sun's super nova. That is
if we haven't blown ourselves up yet (or exhausted earth's resources and moved on to another planet).

But I still like the idea of giant robots better ;) :P :D

Actually, in 5 billion years, when the sun burns out it will grow, becoming a Supernova, and engulf the 4 inner planets,
the Asteroid Belt, and will destroy Jupiter. Our little blue planet would be cooked, then vaporized back to the dust
that created it.

There was glitter everywhere! It looked like somebody stabbed
a pixie.
Roadie of .::DarK LeaF::.

Quote by maverickmechanic,
Actually, in 5 billion years, when the sun burns out it will grow, becoming a Supernova, and engulf the 4 inner planets,
the Asteroid Belt, and will destroy Jupiter. Our little blue planet would be cooked, then vaporized back to the dust
that created it.

Yeah I figured as much. But since I don't know much about quantum physics I didn't want to be too presumtuos on how big
and how hot the explosion would be. So I just figured it'd be bad enough to cook quite a bit of the planet (especially
the exposed side) and maybe send it spiraling off into the vastness of space. Now, however I can safely say that in
another 5 billion years we're probably all dead. Unless we can pull our heads out of our cracks, stop shooting each
other and focus on the preservation and advancement of our race (humans that is).

Of course you can't forget that before the sun super novas it will more than likely become a red giant. And that could
have us all cooked long before the super nova ever occurs.

So perhaps the best thing to do would be to harness that incredible amount of energy into leaving Earth and searching
for another home planet. (controled wormholes come to mind but that's for another post entirely)

Our time is dark, and our world chaotic but I will not be made a victim of this world.....

Quote by From the
Article The plasma discharge will draw international attention since some scientists are concerned with risks
involved in such a process. But Chinese researchers involved in the project say any radiation will cease once the test
is completed.

That is actually what I'm concerned about. I have fears of lingering radiation. Otherwise it seems like an interesting
idea, though we probably need to find a better energy source than nuclear power.

"Ambition is the last refuge of failure." -Oscar Wilde
The downfall of tyrants can be attributed to their cruelty to their subjects.